Unstably Housed Students Basic Income Program
This is a guaranteed income pilot run by the County of Santa Clara's Office of the County Executive as part of its broader Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) initiative. It gives $1,200 a month in unconditional cash, plus financial and peer mentoring, to homeless/unstably housed high school seniors in Santa Clara County to help them transition into college, vocational training, or the workforce. It is funded through a $3 million state budget allocation championed by State Sen. Dave Cortese, layered onto the county's broader GBI funding mix (General Fund, ARPA, AB109, and Destination: Home). It is one of four simultaneous county GBI pilots and uses a randomized controlled trial design, with 75 students receiving payments and roughly 100 more referred students placed in an unpaid, services-only control group. Enrollment is by referral from school districts and county partner organizations, not an open application.
Guaranteed income, Unhoused/homeless students, High school seniors, Randomized controlled trial, County-run, Silicon Valley
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- County of Santa Clara, Office of the County Executive
- City
- San Jose
- State / Province
- California
- Country
- United States
Contact
- Phone
- +1 408 299 5105
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 75
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Currency
- USD
- Total Amount
- 28,800 USD
- Avg. Per Month
- 1,200 USD
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Prepaid Debit Card
- Benefit details
Selected participants receive $1,200 per month, unconditional, for 24 months (about $28,800 total), generally distributed on a prepaid debit card as with the county's other GBI cohorts. The county's GBI program partners with Community Financial Resources (CFR), a nonprofit that administers CFR-branded prepaid Visa cards (issued by Pathward, N.A.) for other Santa Clara County GBI cohorts (confirmed for the foster youth pilot); its role in this specific student cohort is plausible but not independently confirmed in public reporting. Participants also receive financial and peer mentoring and connections to housing, education, and other support services. As part of the pilot's research design, roughly 100 additional referred students are randomly assigned to a control group that receives supportive services but no cash, so outcomes can be compared.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
The program targets graduating high school seniors in Santa Clara County who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability, intended to support their transition to college, trade school, apprenticeship, or the workforce. There is no open application; enrollment happens only through referrals from school districts and other county partner organizations that identify eligible unhoused seniors. Referred, eligible students are then randomly assigned to either the payment group (75 slots) or a no-cash control group (about 100 students) that still receives supportive services, per the pilot's evaluation design.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 17
- Maximum age
- 19
- Education level
- High School
Housing
- Housing status
- Homeless
Geography
- US states covered
- California
- Countries covered
- United States
- Counties covered
- Santa Clara
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
The pilot is run as a randomized controlled trial by the County's GBI program team (Office of the County Executive) with an outside/independent evaluator; participants and a matched no-cash control group are surveyed over time (baseline and follow-up) on outcomes like income stability, housing, education/employment, and well-being, and de-identified card transaction data is shared with the county to track spending patterns such as savings transfers, overdrafts, or fees. Seed data naming a 'County Public Health Department, Science Branch' as the research institution could not be independently verified in public sources found.
Application Process
- How to apply
There is no direct/open application. Eligible unhoused high school seniors are identified and referred into the program by school districts and other county partner organizations; the county says all enrollment in its GBI programs happens through these referrals, not open sign-up.
- Selection process
Referred, eligible students are entered into the pilot's evaluation pool and then randomly assigned either to the cash-payment group (75 people) or to an unpaid control group (about 100 people) that receives supportive services only, consistent with the county's randomized controlled trial design used across its GBI pilots.
